The Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation announced today the L.A. County recipients of a dozen grants to preserve historic treasures for future generations.

The grants range from $2,000 to $10,000. Most of the money will spruce up historic buildings and homes. One grant will help restore the once-vibrant gateways in downtown L.A.’s Chinatown. Another will help to replace interior paint at San Pedro’s 79-year-old Warner Grand Theater.

A historical society will receive a grant to plan restoration of the historic handball courts in the Maravilla housing projects in East L.A. Torrance’s grant will help it to catalog and uncover historic sites within the South Bay city’s limits.

A few of the announced grants seek to train people as agents of historic preservation. One such grant is aimed at teaching construction workers in restoration techniques; another will do the same for people who live in Pico-Union west of downtown L.A.

These are the inaugural grants of the newly formed Los Angeles County Preservation Fund. The money came from three major Southland foundations.